CIA wins suit against ex-officer who published unapproved book

A federal judge in Virginia has ruled that a former covert Central Intelligence Agency officer violated an agreement with the CIA by failing to obtain its approval before publishing a highly critical book about his work there.

U.S. District Court Judge Gerald Lee ruled last week that the former CIA operative, who wrote and was sued by the government under the pseudonym Ishmael Jones, breached the agreement that requires agency personnel to seek pre-publication review of books and articles. In the next phase of the case, Lee will decide what monetary damages or other relief the CIA is entitled to.

The book Jones published in 2008, "The Human Factor: Inside the CIA's Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture," is harsh toward what the former deep-cover officer who worked on nuclear proliferation issues considered widespread mismanagement at the spy agency.

Jones submitted two manuscripts to the CIA's publication review panel. The first one was rejected in its entirety. The second was partially rejected. An internal appeal was pending when Jones's book was released.

Jones's lawyer, Laurin Mills of LeClair Ryan in Alexandria, said Tuesday he regretted the judge's decision. "I was disappointed in it because in similar cases where agents hadn't even gone through the pre-publication review process...they at least got discovery and evidence" about how the agency handled the matter," Mills told POLITICO. "Judge Lee wasn’t having any of that."

Mills said he argued that the CIA actually breached the agreement by not handling the publication review in good faith and in a timely fashion. "The judge's view was that he disagreed and you shouldn't publish until you exhausted the review process," Mills said. After a brief hearing on June 15, Lee issued his written order on June 20. No written opinion has been filed.

Some commentators have lumped the lawsuit the Justice Department filed on behalf of the CIA in with five criminal leak prosecutions that have been launched by the Obama administration under the Espionage Act. When the suit against Jones was filed last year, CIA Director Leon Panetta made clear that he was trying to discourage former CIA personnel from disregarding the process.

"CIA officers are duty-bound to observe the terms of their secrecy agreement with the agency,” Panetta said in a statement emailed to reporters. “This lawsuit clearly reinforces that message.”

Asked about the new ruling, CIA spokesman George Little said: "“Former agency officers are well aware of their lifelong obligation to protect classified information, and that includes submitting written materials on intelligence matters for pre-publication review.”

Jones did not respond to message seeking comment Tuesday, but made clear in his book that he views himself as a whistleblower. "I believe the CIA sought to block publication of this book solely because it is critical of the organization," Jones wrote.